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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. spring — of water
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. land — a country
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. land — ground
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — a stone
  21. march — the month
  22. key — the most important part
  23. march — music
  24. key — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com